NEW DELHI
MAY 25.
Even as the newly appointed Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, prepares to take over the reins of his Ministry tomorrow, his wife, Neelam Pratap Singh, has literally grounded herself from her job as in flight service manager at Alliance Air.

Ms. Singh's decision to proceed on leave without pay came on Saturday when it became known that her husband would get independent charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

The Rudy family felt that it would only be proper for Ms. Singh to remain on leave without pay for the period Mr. Rudy remains in charge of the Ministry.

Beginning her career in Indian Airlines about a decade ago, she went on deputation to the carrier's subsidiary, Alliance Air, in 1997.

\ A trained in flight services manager with a DGCA certificate, Ms. Singh's basic duties were to supervise and train the insight cabin crew of Alliance Air.